Erik ten Hag faces further questions after Manchester United extended their miserable record against teams in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Ten Hag's side missed a bundle of chances in their frustrating 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace and needed goalkeeper Andre Onana to pull off a stunning double save to avoid defeat. It was a comedown from their previous league game, a comfortable 3-0 victory away to Southampton.
Marcus Rashford scored in that win before netting another two goals as the United thrashed League One side Barnsley 7-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was hoping to continue his goalscoring form against Palace but Ten Hag decided to start him on the bench.
The Dutchman favoured Joshua Zirkzee in the striker position and deployed Alejandro Garnacho and Amad out wide. His decision seemingly wasn't a tough one either, as Ten Hag admitted on Sky Sports: "It was not difficult because we need to rotate.
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"We have many games to cover and we have to give Alejandro games - and as we have all seen, he has such a lot of end product, scored so many goals, so many assists, but often as a sub. Also needs starts - he's had just one start this season."
Rashford eventually came on in the second half but he couldn't provide a spark for Ten Hag's men. As Palace prevented United from making it back-to-back top-flight wins, it means that the Red Devils have only won two of their last eight league games against teams starting the day in the bottom half.
United have drawn four of those and lost two, with the pair of victories only coming against newly-promoted teams. Those were April's 4-2 win against soon-to-be relegated Sheffield United and the aforementioned Southampton game.
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Post-match, Ten Hag bemoaned United's lack of cutting edge. "The performance was good, but for a performance, you don't get points," he told Match of the Day.
"You have to score a goal. Of course, I am quite disappointed when you are so dominant in a game. We played some very good football but also did some very good pressing. You are so dictating in a game but you don't score."
Ten Hag added: "We are in a process. In Brighton [a 2-1 loss], we were equal there. The last 30 minutes, we got a little bit loss of control after we scored what we thought was the winning goal, but then we lose the game, so now we make a step forward."
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